DAVAO CITY – Proponent of the anticipated Food Safety Ordinance here eyed for its immediate passage to regulate the selling of street foods in the city.
Speaking during the Pulong-pulong ni Pulong at the City Council Tuesday, Councilor Bernard Al-ag said that the ordinance will give power to the barangay officials to regulate the street vendors.
He said that the proposed ordinance was a result of the study conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in 2011 which found that 90 percent of the street foods here are not safe.
Al-ag also said that the reason for this is the vendor’s lack of knowledge and training on proper food handling.
“The key here is regulation. How to regulate these street food vendors? First, to provide them training. That is the main focus of the ordinance- to provide them skills and knowledge on how to prepare and sell food and make sure that the food is safe,” he said.
“Once they are given the certificate of training or accreditation, they will have to post that in their stalls so that the public will know that you are trained and skilled,” Al-ag said.
Once passed, the food safety ordinance will have a specific budget for the training of sanitary inspectors.
Council committee chair on health Mary Joselle Villafuerte wants to widen the scope of the said ordinance to cover not just the street vendors, but also caterers and other food businesses.(davaotoday.com)
Read related story: Councilor to widen the scope of Food Safety Ordinance
